State and federal officials hailed the demolition of the former Aerovox site Thursday, acknowledging that questions still persist about the extent of contamination of the site, and more assessment and cleanup — possibly $13 million worth — has to be done before the 11-acre North End parcel is developed into anything.

Dan McDonald

NEW BEDFORD — State and federal officials hailed the demolition of the former Aerovox site Thursday, acknowledging that questions still persist about the extent of contamination of the site, and more assessment and cleanup — possibly $13 million worth — has to be done before the 11-acre North End parcel is developed into anything.

The cleanup to date — the razing of the building and transportation of the contaminated materials — has cost around $20 million. AVX Corp., the company responsible for assessing and cleaning the property under the state hazardous waste cleanup law, has paid about $10 million of that cost. The city has spent about $10 million worth of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency funds to transport the materials.

Post-demolition, the 740 Belleville Ave. site is now a large expanse of blacktop overlooking the Acushnet River.

The next step is to assess the extent of contamination underneath the site, a process that could take a year-and-a-half once started. Current estimates suggest the assessment and additional cleanup could cost $13 million.

Mayor Scott W. Lang said at a press conference at the site Thursday that the site could be developed in two or three years.

"It would be premature to decide what may or may not be built here," said Lang. "There's some assumptions that this will have restrictions on it when it's all said and done."

"To talk about future use right now is speculative," said Kimmell. "The key thing is to get the best data about what's under the site. We already have some. We need more."

Aerovox manufactured electrical components at the site from 1938-73. The manufacturing included the use of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and various solvents. Such contaminants tainted the soil, building material and equipment, surface water runoff and groundwater.

"Today, you no longer have a fire threat; you no longer have an eyesore," said Curt Spalding, the regional administrator for EPA New England. "You have potential."